Proverbs 20
Expanded Bible
20 Wine and ·beer [T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain] make people ·loud [mockers] and ·uncontrolled [carousers; brawlers];
it is not wise to ·get drunk on [L be led astray by] them.
2 An angry king is like a ·roaring [growling] lion.
Making him angry may cost you your life.
3 Foolish people are always fighting,
but ·avoiding quarrels [backing away from an accusation] will bring you ·honor [glory; praise].
4 Lazy farmers don’t plow ·when they should [L in the winter];
they ·expect [look for] a harvest, but there is none.
5 People’s ·thoughts [advice; purpose] can be like a deep ·well [L waters],
but someone with understanding can ·find the wisdom there [draw it out].
6 Many people claim to be loyal,
but it is hard to find a ·trustworthy [reliable] person.
7 The ·good [righteous] people who ·live honest lives [walk about in innocence]
will be a blessing to their children.
8 When a king sits on his throne to judge,
he ·knows evil when he sees it [or scatters evil with his eyes].
9 No one can say, “I am innocent;
I ·have never done anything wrong [am cleansed from my sin].”
10 The Lord hates both these things:
·dishonest weights and dishonest measures [L stone and stone, ephah and ephah].
11 Even children are known by their behavior;
their actions show if they are ·innocent [pure] and ·good [upright].
12 The Lord has made both these things:
ears to hear and eyes to see.
13 ·If you love to sleep, you [L Do not love to sleep, or you] will be poor.
·If you stay awake [L Keep your eyes open, and], you will have plenty of food.
14 Buyers say, “·This is bad. It’s no good [L Bad, bad].”
Then they go away and brag about what they bought.
15 There is gold and plenty of ·rubies [or pearls],
but ·only a few people speak with knowledge [L the most precious jewels are knowledgeable lips].
16 Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s debts,
and keep it until he pays what the ·stranger [L foreigner] owes.
17 ·Stolen [Fraudulent; False] food may taste sweet at first,
but later it will feel like a mouth full of gravel.
18 Get advice if you want your plans to ·work [be firm].
If you go to war, get ·the advice of others [guidance].
19 Gossips ·can’t keep [reveal] secrets,
so avoid people who ·talk too much [L are foolish with their lips].
20 Those who curse their father or mother
will be like a light going out in darkness [Job 18:6; 21:17].
21 Wealth inherited quickly in the beginning
will ·do you no good [not bless you] in the end.
22 Don’t say, “I’ll pay you back for the wrong you did.”
Wait for the Lord, and he will ·make things right [save you; Rom. 12:17–20].
23 The Lord ·hates [detests] ·dishonest weights [L stone and stone],
and ·dishonest [fraudulent] scales ·do not please him [L are not good].
24 The Lord decides ·what a person will do [L the steps of a person];
·no one understands what his life is all about [L how can people understand their path?].
25 It’s ·dangerous [L a trap] to ·promise something to God too quickly [speak rashly about holy things].
·After you’ve thought about it, it may be too late [L And to think about it after you made a vow; Lev. 7:16–17; 22:18–23; Judg. 11:29–40; Eccl. 5:1–7].
26 A wise king ·sorts out [winnows; scatters] the evil people,
and he ·punishes them as they deserve [L rolls a threshing sledge over them].
27 The lamp of the Lord looks deep inside people
and searches through ·their thoughts [L all their inner parts].
28 Loyalty and ·truth [faithfulness] ·keep a king in power [protect a king];
he ·continues to rule [supports his throne] if he is loyal.
29 The young glory in their strength,
and the old are honored for their gray hair.
30 ·Hard punishment [L Blows and bruises] ·will get rid of [cleanses away] evil,
and ·whippings [beatings] ·can change an evil heart [L the inner parts].
Proverbs 20
Amplified Bible
On Life and Conduct
20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler;
And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.(A)
2
The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
3
It is an honor for a man to keep away from strife [by handling situations with thoughtful foresight],
But any fool will [start a] quarrel [without regard for the consequences].
4
The lazy man does not plow when the winter [planting] season arrives;
So he begs at the [next] harvest and has nothing [to reap].
5
A plan (motive, wise counsel) in the heart of a man is like water in a deep well,
But a man of understanding draws it out.(B)
6
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty and goodness,
But who can find a faithful and trustworthy man?
7
The righteous man who walks in integrity and lives life in accord with his [godly] beliefs—
How blessed [happy and spiritually secure] are his children after him [who have his example to follow].
8
A [discerning] king who sits on the throne of judgment
Sifts all evil [like chaff] with his eyes [and cannot be easily fooled].
9
Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin?”(C)
10
Differing weights [one for buying and another for selling] and differing measures,
Both of them are detestable and offensive to the Lord.(D)
11
Even a boy is known and distinguished by his acts,
Whether his conduct is pure and right.
12
The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The [omnipotent] Lord has made both of them.
13
Do not love [excessive] sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes [so that you can do your work] and you will be satisfied with bread.
14
“It is [almost] worthless, it is [almost] worthless,” says the buyer [as he negotiates the price];
But when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].
15
There is gold, and an abundance of pearls,
But the lips of knowledge are a vessel of preciousness [the most precious of all].(E)
16
[The judge tells the creditor], “Take the clothes of one who is surety for a stranger;
And hold him in pledge [when he guarantees a loan] for foreigners.”(F)
17
Food gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel [just as sin may be sweet at first, but later its consequences bring despair].
18
Plans are established by counsel;
So make war [only] with wise guidance.
19
He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with a gossip [who talks freely or flatters].(G)
20
Whoever curses his father or his mother,
His lamp [of life] will be extinguished in time of darkness.
21
An inheritance hastily gained [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.(H)
22
Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue and save you.(I)
23
Differing weights are detestable and offensive to the Lord,
And fraudulent scales are not good.
24
Man’s steps are ordered and ordained by the Lord.
How then can a man [fully] understand his way?
25
It is a trap for a man to [[a]speak a vow of consecration and] say rashly, “It is holy!”
And [not until] afterward consider [whether he can fulfill it].
26
A wise king sifts out the wicked [from among the good]
And drives the [threshing] wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain].
27
The [b]spirit (conscience) of man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being.(J)
28
Loyalty and mercy, truth and faithfulness, protect the king,
And he upholds his throne by lovingkindness.
29
The glory of young men is their [physical] strength,
And the honor of aged men is their gray head [representing wisdom and experience].
30
Blows that wound cleanse away evil,
And strokes reach to the innermost parts.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:25 Such a vow would single out an item for sacrifice or for the use of the temple or the priests. The classic example of a careless vow was Jephthah’s promise to sacrifice to the Lord whatever came out of his house to meet him on his return from a successful battle (Judg 11:30-35).
- Proverbs 20:27 Lit breath.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
